How Are Real Estate Agents Paid When Selling Your Home?

A record 91% of sellers used an agent in 2025, and the typical home sold for 99% of its final list price after four weeks on the market. (NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers) Nearly all of those sellers paid their agent the same way: a fee set in the listing agreement, paid at closing out of the sale proceeds, routed through the agent’s broker. The details, especially what happens with the buyer’s agent since August 2024, are where sellers get surprised. Here is the full path of the money.

The short version

Step one: the listing agreement sets the fee

Mississippi requires it in writing. Every exclusive listing agreement must “contain all of the terms and conditions under which the transaction is to be consummated; including the sales price, the considerations to be paid, the signatures of all parties to the agreement, and a definite date of expiration.” (MREC Rule 3.2(B)) The broker is responsible for making sure it spells out “the sales price, considerations, and compensation to be paid.” (MREC Rule 3.2(C)(2))

The number itself is up to you and the agent. “Agent compensation for home buyers and sellers continues to be fully negotiable.” (NAR, What the Settlement Means) For a reference point, Clever’s August 2026 survey of 434 agents put the national average total commission at 5.46%, and Mississippi’s at 5.59%, split 2.81% on the listing side and 2.78% on the buyer side. (Clever) Those are averages of what agents reported, not a rate anyone is required to charge.

The fee can also take a different shape. “Agent compensation can take many forms, such as a flat fee, a percentage of the purchase price, or an hourly fee.” (NAR Consumer Guide) Tiered structures exist too; one industry example is “a total 5.5% commission if the home sells for your target price, and 5% if it sells below that.” (HomeLight)

What the math looks like

On a $300,000 sale, using the Mississippi averages above as illustration only:

The second row is new territory for many sellers, and it is the reason the next section exists.

Step two: the buyer’s agent since August 17, 2024

For decades the listing broker advertised on the MLS what it would pay a buyer’s broker, and that amount came out of the seller’s total fee. That practice ended: “These offers are no longer allowed on Multiple Listing Service (MLS) platforms.” (NAR) Buyers now sign written agreements with their own agents that must state “the amount or rate of compensation the real estate agent will receive or how this amount will be determined,” and the amount cannot be “whatever the amount the seller is offering.” (NAR)

You still have choices:

• “Sellers can still offer compensation off an MLS.” (NAR)
• “Sellers can offer buyer concessions on an MLS (for example—concessions for buyer closing costs).” (NAR)
• Buyers “can also ask the seller to offer compensation to your agent, which can be sought in the purchase agreement.” (NAR Consumer Guide) Expect to see that request in offers.

What are sellers actually doing? Redfin’s closed-transaction data showed “the average commission paid to buyer’s agents was 2.43% in the second quarter of 2025, slightly higher than the 2.36% recorded before the settlement’s practice changes took effect.” (HousingWire, Oct. 22, 2026) In HomeLight’s Spring/Summer 2026 survey, “57% of top agents say sellers are still covering the buyer’s agent commission.” (HomeLight) And 27% of 2025 sellers offered some incentive to attract buyers, most commonly closing-cost assistance (11%) and a home warranty (9%). (NAR 2025 Profile, Exhibit 6-23)

The practical point: your listing agreement should say in plain language whether the fee covers the listing side only, and how buyer-agent requests in offers will be handled. If it does not, ask before you sign.

Step three: the money moves at closing

Nothing is paid up front in a standard listing. The commission is paid when the deed transfers, out of your proceeds, by the closing attorney or title company. On the buyer’s Closing Disclosure it appears on page 2 under “H. Other,” which by regulation includes “real estate brokerage fees,” in the seller-paid column. (CFPB, Guide to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure) Seller-paid costs must be shown on the buyer’s disclosure even when the seller receives a separate one. (CFPB TRID FAQs) You will see the exact figure before closing day.

If the home does not sell during the listing term, you normally owe nothing. Read the protection clause, though: most agreements let the broker claim the fee if you later sell to a buyer the agent introduced during the term. Post #18 in this series covers that clause in detail.

Step four: the check goes to the broker, not the agent

In Mississippi, “A Principal Broker shall be the sole recipient of compensation resulting from the sale, purchase, rent, auction, exchange, or property management of Mississippi real property by Licensees licensed under that Broker.” (MREC Rule 3.1(E)(1)) The closing agent cuts the check to the brokerage. The brokerage then pays the agent according to their internal split, after any franchise fee, and the agent covers their own taxes, insurance, MLS dues, and marketing. The typical REALTOR® closed 9 transaction sides in 2025 and earned a median gross income of $59,200 before expenses. (NAR 2026 Member Profile) Post #26 in this series walks through where each dollar goes.

Why this matters to you: your contract is with the brokerage, and the broker is accountable for the agreement. If a dispute arises about the fee, the broker is who you call.

What the fee is supposed to buy

Sellers in 2026 ranked “helped me price my home and/or understand my local market” as the single most valuable agent service (42% ranked it first, 67% top two), followed by leading contract negotiations (17% first, 40% top two). (Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2026, Sellers) Pricing and negotiation are also where agents differ most. A Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta working paper found “selling prices varied widely among real estate agents,” and that a seller “would have to hire an agent in the top 79th to 90th percentile to obtain a selling price high enough to justify the commission.” (University of Florida Warrington College of Business on Cunningham, Gerardi and Shen) The fee percentage is the easy number to compare. The agent’s pricing track record is the number that decides whether the fee was worth it.

Frequently asked questions